Intercity in £1.7bn sell-off

A consortium of London City investors is close to seizing control of a third of Britain’s trains for about £1.7bn (€2bn), according to sources.

The investors, 3i Infrastructure, Morgan Stanley Infrastructure and Star Capital, have teamed up to buy the rolling stock leasing business owned by HSBC Holdings. It owns 4,000 UK trains, including several distinctive fleets, such as the Intercity 225 trains that run between London and Edinburgh and the Javelin high-speed commuter trains that provide services between London and Kent.